No. 1 Kirtland Central asserts itself, batters No. 2 Gallup

GALLUP — There might have been some reasonable doubt two weeks ago. Maybe.

Yes, the Kirtland Central girls held their home court and took down then-No. 1 Gallup, then-undefeated Gallup, in the first of their mega District 1-4A showdowns.

The Broncos won by 14 that day. But did that automatically signify that they had usurped the Bengals as Class 4A’s best team? There remained room for dissenting opinions. Gallup was missing a key guard that day, for one example. The teams had yet to meet on the Bengals’ intimidating home court, for another.

Well, there isn’t any dissent anymore. Kirtland Central silenced all possible detracting voices on Saturday night.

Did they ever.

The Broncos, now ranked No. 1, rode into a sold-out Gallup gym, scored the first 20 points of the second quarter to establish double-digit dominance, and left with a commanding 70-45 victory over the second-ranked Bengals.

“These girls were focused all week, they were focused tonight, and it was just awesome to watch them play,” Broncos coach Devon Manning said.

Both teams are 20-2 overall. Kirtland Central is 6-0 in league play, two games in front of Gallup, and the Broncos all but secured 1-4A’s regular-season title.

This game produced the incredibly rare sight of Gallup fans vacating their seats early in the fourth quarter as they marched to the parking lot, perhaps chatting amongst themselves about how this Kirtland Central team can be solved. Or if it can be solved.

There was hope early for the Bengals in a tight first quarter. Alysha Slinkey, the aforementioned guard who missed the first meeting, scored on a three-point play with 1:11 to go in the first quarter and the Bengals’ crowd roared its approval as Gallup led 15-14.

The next time Gallup scored a point, 6½ game minutes later, Kirtland Central was leading by 21 points and the game, frankly, already seemed over.

Whatever noise Gallup’s fans had going early, the Broncos muted during that massive and impressive run.

“It was really important (to quiet them),” said Kirtland Central sophomore guard Elaina Clani, who scored 16 points in the victory.

The Broncos scored the last two points of the first quarter and then the first 20 of the second quarter in that extended sequence. Seven players for Kirtland Central scored in that lengthy, 22-0 burst.

“I think we really took the middle away,” Clani said of Kirtland Central’s attacking defense.

Haylee Nocki, who burned Gallup repeatedly in the first matchup from the arc but was more silent Saturday, hit a 3-pointer, her only one of the night. So did Zoey Benally. Meanwhile, the main issue that plagued Gallup two weeks ago — being turned over by the Broncos’ quick, relentless guards — bubbled to the surface again during this run, with Kirtland Central turning defense to offense time and again.

Kaylyn Cadman had the final eight of the half for the Broncos, including two late 3s, and Kirtland led 42-20 at intermission.

Gallup was more physical and destroyed Kirtland Central on the offensive glass, in the third quarter, and the Bengals cut into the deficit, getting to within 11 (56-45) in the final minute.

But the Broncos scored the last two buckets, including a layup by freshman Allyson Tsosie off a behind-the-back pass from Nocki at the buzzer, for a 60-45 edge headed to the fourth.

Those two baskets, Manning said, were important.

“Little bit of a backbreaker for them, to work that hard, and then we get the last four points of the quarter to push it back to 15,” he said.

The fourth quarter was as anticlimactic as can be as the Broncos cruised to the buzzer before their drive home.

Junior forward Krista Tsingine-Yazzie had 19 points to lead Kirtland Central, and said the Broncos did elevate their play quite a bit compared to the first win over Gallup.

“Yes, I actually do (believe that),” the soft-spoken Tsingine-Yazzie said. Her defense on Gallup post Rylie Whitehair was also crucial, Manning said.

“Krista does an absolutely fantastic job playing against her,” he said.

Tsosie added 10 points for the Broncos. Whitehair and Slinkey each had 10 for outmatched Gallup.

“These girls,” Manning said of his group, “they were just ready.”

Kirtland Central ensnares Gallup, again: Photos